BELLA VISTA (KFSM) -- A Bella Vista woman is looking for justice after she says witnesses saw a group of teens stab a turtle to death at Whispering Creek.
The local turtle rehabilitator, too afraid to share her identity said:
"They knee'd her and were sitting on her and basically kind of torturing her, and took out two big large 8-inch knives and started stabbing her, they even tried to slit her throat."
Photos of the turtle show 12 stab wounds ranging from the neck down and even two on its shell.
Despite the woman's efforts in her home nursery, the turtle died the next morning before she could take it to vet.
"It just broke my heart that this creature who is probably middle-aged could go through all this suffering." she said.
Bentonville police are continuing to investigate witness statements while they are unsure of what repercussion this falls under.
However according to Arkansas Game and Fish the killing of any non-game reptile is illegal unless it proves to be an imminent threat to a person.
Moving forward the woman is asking that people visiting the creek leave the animals alone to enjoy their natural habitat.
